What Was Gandhi's Non Cooperation Act

In order to end the civil acts of disobedience the British agreed to set all political prisoners free in 1931. This agreement was known as Gandhi-Irwin pact; Lord Irwin was the viceroy of India at the time (History, 2010).

"You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean is not." -Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi was a powerhouse, a leader, and an activist. He started the Salt March, which was a movement that created a new light for the people involved in it.

They had been pushing since before World War I. The Indians were promised in the 1930’s that they would be granted independence but

“If you make laws to keep us suppressed in a wrongful manner and without taking us into confidence, these laws will merely adorn the statue books. We will never obey them”(1). Mohandas Gandhi expressed this in his writing “On Nonviolent Resistance”. “Civil disobedience” is when people use their voice by protesting, non-violently, to stick up against unjust laws and unjust movements. The truths and values are proven and brought to attention in the writings of Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr, and Henry David Thoreau. Civil disobedience can be the solution to unjust laws and violence around the world.

This meant that all matters that had to be discussed had to be approved by the government appointed Indian agent before a chief and council could address the matter. Once matters were discussed any resolution had to be agreed upon by the appropriate federal minister before being enacted. When people attempted to address grievances or complaints they had with the government and the Indian Act System, new laws were passed to stop them from organizing and effectively dealing with the issues brought to their attention.

The Golden Temple Massacre, the Homespun Movement, and the Salt March were vital events that contributed to India’s independence from Britain. Britain controlled India for over 100 years until the mid 1900s. The British ruled India using a government system called direct rule, and kicked out the old Indian government to replace it with a viceroy. India gained independence on August 15, 1947, when Nehru passed a new declaration of independence and became the first prime minister of the country. There were three major events in the Indian fight for independence from Britain: the Golden Temple massacre, the Homespun Movement, and the Salt March.

In 1757, Great Britain extended its empire into India. This occupation would not fully end until 1947. In the time between, there were many movements by the Indian people to gain independence from the British. The movement that finally succeeded in winning India’s independence was led by one of the most influential figures of the 20th century, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Gandhi’s methods for fighting against the occupation of the British were very different from those of any of the freedom movements before. And that was why it worked. Gandhi did not agree with the general reasoning of the time: that conflicts could be solved through negotiation and forceful resistance.1 Rather, his faith led him to go

The Indian National Congress and Gandhi boycotted the new commission“(Zuiderveen 1). Gandhi demanded Independence from the British Empire and fought for it till it was granted. Gandhi boycotted the commission and fought because he knew what independence meant for India. In 1947 India was an independent state, free from British

In 1885, nationalist leaders organized the Indian National Congress who called for greater democracy which they felt would bring more power to themselves. Other Indian nationalists, took a more radical, anti-British stand. I believe this is positive because I feel that the first instance of British resistance was the first step towards independence. Negative effects of the imperialistic rule in India were that there was a rapid population growth , hence, there was a strain on the food supply, especially since farmland was turned into cash crops instead of food. They cleared new farmlands which led to massive deforestation and other environmental destruction. Also, in the late 1800s terrible famines swept India. The railroads could not carry food to the suffering areas, but overall, millions of Indian peasants sank deeply into poverty.

On March 2nd, 1930, Gandhi sent a letter to the Viceroy, Lord Irwin, forcefully saying that if Indian demands were not met, he would be forced to violate the ‘salt laws.’ The Lord ignored his letter. Gandhi began a 240 mile trek to the sea with 78 of his followers. As the trek continued, more and more people joined Mohandas Gandhi, and by the time Gandhi arrived at the sea thousands of people stood behind him. Gandhi picked up a clump of sea salt along with thousands of others. Gandhi was soon arrested for his actions along with tens of thousands of others. Gandhi was pardoned to travel to England for negotiations which accomplished nothing, and was arrested upon his return to India.

“ I well remembered that I … did not feel the slightest hesitation in entering the prisoner’s box” (Document C). Gandhi shows that he didn’t care that his punishment was time in jail because he was still going to go back out working toward his goal. It is said that he passed his term in jail in perfect happiness and peace (Document C). Even though Gandhi knew that his actions went against the law and that it would result in punishment, he still did what would help the poor Indians. Gandhi showed resistance throughout the whole movement, even though he did suffer sometimes. Since punishment was a big part in his life, the British eventually got their punishment, which was losing control of

Congress leader Nehru and Gandhi were frustrated that the offer came with no guarantees which forced the offer to be rejected. Demands were made for a full cabinet government with integration of all Indian provinces into one nation. The significance of this is that India recognized the power it possessed and that they could now demand guarantees: Congress saw its opportunity to press its demand for independence leading to the Quit India Campaign. Britain however was not prepared to yield: instead of negotiating with Gandhi, the British wielded its imperial power, imprisoning Congress’s leadership. Herman writes of how fast Britain was to crush this movement “almost the entirety of Congress, not just at a national-level, was imprisoned without trial within hours of Gandhi’s speech” This shows that even though British were pre-occupied with the war effort they were not willing to relinquish their authority to the extent of arresting the country’s largest political party.

Events in South Africa had made Gandhi a very well-known man in India and in 1915 he along with family in tow, arrives in Bombay, India which is where the following scene takes place. I immediately noticed that he was no longer wearing a suit, but instead the traditional clothing of the Indian people. Upon returning to India, the film depicts Gandhi taking on the English once again with the backing of millions of Indian supporters seeking independence from Great Britain. This done by once again forming a non-violent protesting organization. From here the film goes on to show violence brought to Gandhi’s followers, supporters, and the non-violent protestors by officials using force with gunfire, batons, etc. Afterwards, Gandhi was again imprisoned several times in India with one occurrence resulting in a six year sentence.

On August 8, 1942 the Quit India Resolution was passed at the Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee (AICC).[5] In his Quit India speech that day at Gowalia Tank, Bombay, Gandhi told Indians to follow non-violent civil disobedience. He told the masses to act as an independent nation. His call found support among a large amount

In 1922, the large group of non-cooperation movement workers killed 22 policemen, making Gandhi to suspend the non-cooperation movement. Gandhi with other leaders was